Moving On
by ButterflyDreams777
Summary: THE FINAL CHAPTER IS UP! CHAPTER 8! A Syaoran x Sakura fanfiction... Sakura wants to ask Syaoran to the movies, but she's turned down because Syaoran has plans. How can Sakura say she loves him?!
1. Chapter 1: Only the Beginning...

Moving On  
  
"Touya!" Sakura wiped the sweat off her forehead. She had just run home from Tomoyo's house when she remembered her brother telling her he would come. Sakura was now fifteen years old, studying for her high school exams. "Touya, are you here? Did you come visit me like you promised?"  
  
"I'm here, Sakura," Touya called as he swung around the kitchen corner to Sakura removing her shoes. Yukito followed him.  
  
"Yukito came too?" Sakura's face brightened. She missed seeing her big brother everyday, and she missed him bringing over Yukito. She ran to Touya and hugged him. "Sugoi! Sugoi! Sugoi!"  
  
"Which high school are you planning on going to?" Yukito asked Sakura as she hugged him. Sakura shrugged.  
  
"I'm not sure," she murmured, looking at the ground. "I'm planning to take the exam for whatever school Tomoyo is trying to make it into."  
  
"Sakura," Touya said, putting his arm around his little sister and pulling her aside, "you can't do everything because your friends do. Some of them may never see you again after high school."  
  
"That's not true," Sakura replied quietly. Her voice raised as she became enraged by Touya's words. "That's a lie! Tomoyo and I will always be friends!" Sakura ran to her room, crying.  
  
"Maybe you were a little too hard?" Yukito suggested thoughtfully. Touya shook his head.  
  
"I think I was a little harder on her than that," he corrected. "Maybe I should leave her alone for a while."  
  
Sakura sat down on her bed and wiped away her tears. She'd be friends with Tomoyo after high school, right? Even if she wasn't, she's still be friends with Syaoran. Maybe even Meiling…  
  
Sakura laughed quietly and turned out the lights. She snuggled under her covers and fell asleep. 


	2. Chapter 2: School Day

Moving On  
  
"Sakura!" Mr. Kinomoto's voice rang through the house as Sakura rose and yawned. "Sakura, wake up!"  
  
"I'm awake!" she answered as she hurried to dress. She packed up her school supplies and ran down to breakfast. Touya was still there, because he was going to stay for the whole week. When he saw Sakura, he sneered.  
  
"Some things never change." Touya took a sip of his tea. "You still sound like a monster rampaging on those stairs."  
  
Sakura playfully punched Touya and sat down to eat. As she ate as quickly as possible, Touya laughed as he remembered her doing the same thing when he was still in high school. He stopped her as she dropped her plate in the sink. "Sakura-chan… about what I said about Tomoyo yesterday…"  
  
"That's okay," Sakura interrupted. "I'm glad you're trying to prepare me for the real world. Thank you, Touya."  
  
Touya nodded and tossed Sakura her backpack. "You're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry up."  
  
Sakura strapped on her skates and placed her school shoes in a bag. She exchanged waves to her brother as she sped off. It didn't take her long until she skidded to a stop in front of Tomoyo.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan!" she yelled happily. She hugged Tomoyo.  
  
"Good morning to you too, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo answered. "You seem to be in a good mood today."  
  
"I had a terrible dream that I was all grown up and I wasn't friends with you or Syaoran or Meiling or Rika or Chiharu or Naoko!"  
  
"That'll never happen," Tomoyo explained, comforting Sakura. "Some friendships, like ours, last a lifetime."  
  
"Thanks, Tomoyo. Let's get to school."  
  
As Sakura and Tomoyo walked into their classroom they heard a very familiar voice. Then they saw who it was: Meiling.  
  
"Sakura." Meiling turned away from Sakura to talk to Syaoran, who was double-checking an English paper that was due in the afternoon. He nodded along as he pretended to be listening. Sakura sat in front of Syaoran and Tomoyo sat across from Sakura, in front of Meiling. Meiling was mad at Sakura after a fight they had had the year before. Sakura knew Tomoyo noticed too, because she had leaned over the desks and whispered,  
  
"I guess she still hasn't forgiven you."  
  
Sakura nodded in agreement as Meiling gave her a dirty look and continued her conversation. Sakura didn't mind: she was in a good mood today. After weeks of waiting, she was finally going to ask Syaoran if he wanted to see a movie with her today. Tomoyo had encouraged her. Since Meiling was visiting again, she'd wait until the afternoon to ask… 


	3. Chapter 3: The Call

The day went surprisingly slow for Sakura as she awaited the end of the day so she could call Syaoran. When she locked the door behind her at home, she immediately went to the chore chart to see what she had to do today. Sakura vacuumed and polished and cleaned the windows. Then, with only one chore left to do, she was able to call Syaoran. Her heart leapt with every ring until, finally, Syaoran answered.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Syaoran. It's me, Sakura."  
  
"Hi, Sakura. Why did you call?"  
  
Sakura stalled for a moment. "Umm… would you like to maybe go see a movie with me tonight?"  
  
"I'd really like to, Sakura, but I already promised that I'd go to the movies with Meiling today. I'm sorry. Maybe next week."  
  
Sakura felt her heart and hopes snap in two. Her voice broke as she responded. "O-okay. Goodbye." She hung up the phone without allowing Syaoran to say goodbye. Then Sakura went to the kitchen to complete her last chore, which was making dinner.  
  
Mr. Kinomoto came home a half an hour later. The house smelled delicious. He walked into the kitchen, where Sakura was standing next to the stove, cooking slowly.  
  
"I was going to order out," he explained as he leaned over Sakura to see what she was making. "I thought you were going to the movies with your friend."  
  
"He has plans already." Sakura turned the heat of the stove off, put the food on a plate, and set it in the middle of the table among the rest of the food. A few minutes later, Touya came home as Sakura set the last plate on the table.  
  
"You outdid yourself," he commented when they all finished eating. Sakura was exhausted. It was only 8:00, but she walked upstairs and fell asleep in her bed anyway. 


	4. Chapter 4: Movie Time

Moving On  
  
"Syaoran! We're gonna be late!" Meiling rushed Syaoran out the door. They were driven to the movie theater and dropped off.  
  
"Meiling, stop hanging off my arm," Syaoran complained as he tried to shake off Meiling's grip. Meiling bought the tickets and they headed off into a very small theater with only about ten rows of seats, each having a total of about eight seats, Meiling insisted, to Syaoran's relief, the last row so they didn't have to look practically right up to see the movie and hurt their necks. She chose the two seats closest to the isle on the right side, and they sat there, Meiling on the outside. In the middle of the movie, the lights came on, and a man grabbed Meiling.  
  
"Don't move!" he commanded, holding a gun to Meiling. Syaoran did as the man told everyone in the theater. He may be mad at Meiling, but he didn't want her hurt. Meiling had other plans.  
  
"Go ahead, Syaoran! Run for it!" she shouted, breaking free of the man's grip. She jumped and tried to kick him, but the man was fast. Seconds later, Meiling was on the theater floor bleeding through a hole in her chest.  
  
"Meiling!" Syaoran yelled.  
  
"Syaoran…" Meiling murmured as tears filled her eyes. "I see her. It's Sakura's mother…"  
  
The police barged in seconds later and arrested the man. An ambulance came for Meiling, but Syaoran knew. And he knew the paramedics knew, too.  
  
Sakura looked up sleepily and picked up her ringing phone.  
  
"H-hello?" she half-yawned, stretching. She glanced at her alarm clock. Who would be calling her at 11:30 PM?  
  
"Sa-Sakura," Syaoran responded, his voice breaking in every syllable. Sakura shot up.  
  
"Syaoran!" she shouted. She covered her mouth, remembering what time it was. "Do you know what time it is? Where are you?"  
  
"I-I know it's l-late…" Syaoran sounded as if he were about to cry. "I'm at the hospital."  
  
"Why?" Sakura was fully awake now, and worried. She bit her fingernails. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm f-fine," he replied. "Meiling… she- she's… with your mother."  
  
Those words hit Sakura like a truck. If Meiling was with her mother, then she…  
  
"N-no," Sakura stuttered. "N-no. Th-this is some kind of joke, isn't it? Isn't it, Syaoran?! I don't care what you think, just put Meiling on!"  
  
"She-she's g-gone," Syaoran choked, recalling Meiling lying on the theater carpet, bleeding to death. "She's r-really gone."  
  
"Wh-what do you t-take me for?" Sakura asked, half laughing. "Meiling is in on this too, huh? Tell me you're lying!" Suddenly Sakura heard what sounded like Syaoran crying on the other line. This was no joke if Syaoran was crying. "Oh my goodness. You're-you're not kidding?"  
  
"N-no," Syaoran said in a whisper, "Meiling is dead."  
  
Touya knocked on Sakura's door and let himself in. Sakura was curled up with her back against the bedpost shaking, with the phone clutched in both hands to her left ear.  
  
"T-Touya…" Sakura sobbed as Touya took the phone out of her hands. "Meiling…"  
  
"Sakura has to go," he told Syaoran. "She'll call you back tomorrow." Touya turned to Sakura. "Do you want to talk to me?"  
  
Sakura nodded slowly." M-Meiling… she… d-died…"  
  
Touya climbed onto his sister's bed and hugged her. "Sakura-chan… you don't want father to worry. Now is one of those times when you have to be a big girl and take things as they come. You don't have to feel better tomorrow. Take as long as you want to recover."  
  
"You were right," Sakura murmured. "I won't see some of my friends after high school. And I won't ever see Meiling again."  
  
"You can cry it out," Touya offered. Sakura shivered.  
  
"Touya?" she whispered hoarsely. He looked down at her. "Th-that could've been me. That's where I wanted to go with Syaoran."  
  
"Try to get some sleep, Sakura," Touya suggested.  
  
Sakura watched Touya leave her room. She curled up in her covers, turned her light off, and cried herself to sleep. 


	5. Chapter 5: Aid and Affection

Moving On  
  
Rain pelted the roof and flooded the streets. Syaoran hurried to the door as the bell rang. When he opened it, Sakura was standing there, soaking wet, in a long purple dress. For some reason, she was smiling.  
  
"Good morning, Syaoran," she exclaimed as he pushed her inside. "I… I came here to help you around the house. I'm very sorry about Meiling…"  
  
"Thank you, Sakura," Syaoran replied as Sakura sneezed. He snatched a blanket from a nearby couch and draped it over her shoulders. "You… shouldn't have come here… you're catching a cold now. Go put on some of Meiling's clothes."  
  
"A-are you sure?" Sakura asked, startled. "I mean, don't you want her room to stay the way it is now?"  
  
"I did, but I don't want you to get sick. Go try something on."  
  
Sakura paused, then finally nodded. She rushed off to Meiling's room, sneezing. She came out of Meiling's room minutes later, sporting a short pale pink spring dress with a sash and a bow in the back with a matching bow in her hair.  
  
"Wow, I didn't know Meiling's clothes were so… beautiful…" she murmured as she went to show Syaoran. When she modeled it for him, he stared, wide-eyed, at Sakura.  
  
"It… it looks… nice…"he stuttered as Sakura twirled in front of him happily. Suddenly she stopped.  
  
"I still… I feel like Meiling wouldn't want me to be wearing this…" Sakura trailed off, as if sucked into a daze.  
  
"She'd be happy," Syaoran smiled, "that her clothes weren't going to waste."  
  
Sakura smiled back. "What should I help you with, then?"  
  
"You don't have to help," Syaoran explained as Sakura went into the living room and started dusting. "I mean, you have chores of your own, right?"  
  
"Those can wait," Sakura said as she changed her course to the lamp on the other side of the room. Syaoran sighed. It was no use arguing with a stubborn Sakura. "You're more important."  
  
"Th-thank you…" Syaoran responded quietly. He helped her as she dusted.  
  
A few hours later, the house was spotless, and Syaoran and Sakura both sat down on the couch tiredly. They were definitely a little closer now, and they had had some laughs as they had cleaned the house.  
  
"That was actually really fun," Sakura laughed as she got up to make both of them cups of tea. Syaoran grabbed her hand.  
  
"Sakura," he answered as she turned to stare at him. "I… wanted to thank you… again. I feel a lot better now after yesterday."  
  
"Anything for a friend." Sakura left for the kitchen and came back a little bit later with two cups of green tea. She and Syaoran talked for hours. Finally, Sakura looked at her watch. "It's already 4:00! Syaoran, I have to go."  
  
"I'll walk you home," Syaoran offered. "That is, if you want me to."  
  
"You bet!" Sakura jumped up and snatched Syaoran's hand. Then they left the house.  
  
"We're here," Syaoran said quietly. "You can come over whenever you want. It's nice to talk to you."  
  
"Same here." Sakura gave Syaoran a quick kiss on the cheek and ran inside. Syaoran stood in his position for a few moments, wondering if she was going to come back outside, but he left anyway. 


	6. Chapter 6: Holes in the Floor of Heaven

Moving On  
  
Author Note: First of all, I apologize to all of the Meiling fans (especially Z) for killing her off in chapter 4. It was for the sake of a good story line. So, I wrote this chapter for all you Meiling fans out there.  
  
"Nadeshiko, is that you?" Meiling asked quietly as she stroked her left angel wing in her fingers nervously. She wasn't sure whether this was all a crazy dream or if she was really dead.  
  
Nadeshiko nodded slowly. "I saw the whole thing, Meiling."  
  
"How?" Meiling questioned. "How could you know? You're up here!"  
  
"Go down there," Nadeshiko suggested, pointing downwards towards Sakura's house. "Watch what Syaoran is doing. And Sakura."  
  
Meiling flew through the clouds to Sakura's house. It was now Saturday night, and Touya was washing the car in front of the house. As he looked up, he saw Meiling's ghost sitting on the roof of the car.  
  
"So Sakura was right…" Touya whispered in disbelief. Sure, he had talked to his mother's ghost several times, but he hadn't expected to talk to Meiling. "Meiling…"  
  
"Y-you can see me?" Meiling gasped, jumping off the car and landing without a sound. "Do you think… everyone else can see me?"  
  
"Probably just me," Touya exclaimed, returning to washing the car. "It's a kind of… special power I have. Why did you come here, Meiling?"  
  
"Your mother suggested I come to check on Sakura."  
  
"I can believe that," Touya laughed. "She used to always come to visit us. But Meiling, if you're going to visit Sakura, don't scare her or anything. Please. She's terrified of ghosts."  
  
"You have my word," Meiling said, flying up to Sakura's windowsill. "Goodbye, Touya. I'll visit you again sometime." She crept into Sakura's window silently.  
  
Sakura was in her room, brushing her hair as she sang to herself. "- Ban ichiban ichiban ichiban. Koishiteru…" She looked down at her outfit. "Oh! I'm still wearing Meiling's dress. I'll return it to Syaoran in the morning."  
  
"Sakura…" Meiling murmured, gritting her teeth angrily. "That's my dress!"  
  
"Who's there?" Sakura said, spinning to the general direction in which Meiling was sitting inside her room on the windowsill. "I could've sworn…"  
  
Sakura changed into her pajamas and curled up into her covers.  
  
"Sakura, what're you up to?" Meiling asked, floating up and down.  
  
"Meiling!" Sakura yelled, hugging her. "You're alive!"  
  
"No…" Meiling replied quietly, hanging her head. "But you have to know, Sakura. I'll be watching over you. If you want me to be, I'll even be your guardian angel."  
  
"I miss you," Sakura explained. "I'd love for you to be my guardian angel! I think a guardian angel should be someone you… trust and care for. Like an adult guardian if your parents die. And I trust you."  
  
"I'll be watching," Meiling repeated, waving to Sakura as she faded. Within seconds she was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Sakura shot up as her dream ended. She swept the sweat off of her forehead as she got up and went downstairs for a drink. Meiling watched her. She went back to her bed, looked at the night sky through her window, and whispered, "Goodbye, Meiling." 


	7. Chapter 7: Tomoyo's Big Break-In

Moving On  
  
Author Note: Second, (extended thoughts written during chapter 6) I would like to thank everybody who has reviewed my story, whether they complimented or suggested. I'm very happy that you took time out of your day to read and review my story. I truly didn't think anybody would. So thanks everyone! I'll continue on to what you came here for.  
  
Tomoyo woke up at 1:00AM the next morning. She climbed out of her window with her camera and a wrinkled sheet of paper. Her destination: the movie theater.  
  
It was considerably dark out, and Tomoyo was forced to use a flashlight to see. The streetlights didn't even help cut through the late night fog. There was a security guard in the front of the building, just as it said on Tomoyo's paper. Nobody would be by the back door. The guard didn't even notice Tomoyo sneak past him in the fog. She opened the back door silently and slid through, unnoticed.  
  
Once she was in, she shone her flashlight at her paper. It was a map of the theater, showing where the guards would be at what times. She took a couple of turns through the movie theater's many theaters and finally went through a large door in the very back of the theater.  
  
The room was filled with television screens and videos stacked up high. Tomoyo rummaged through them until she found one that referred to the past Friday. She tucked it into a bag and got home without being caught by 2:00  
  
"Sakura, I think you may want this," Tomoyo explained almost inaudibly the next morning as she held out a neatly wrapped (and very suspiciously shaped) rectangle. Sakura carefully unwrapped the gift and read the label on the side.  
  
"This is when…" she started, almost dropping the tape. "This is when Meiling… died…"  
  
Tomoyo nodded. "I took it from the movie theater last night. I… thought you might like to have it…"  
  
"Thank you, Tomoyo," Sakura said as she gave Tomoyo a hug. Tomoyo patted Sakura's back reassuringly.  
  
"Just don't tell Syaoran about it," Tomoyo exclaimed as Sakura put the video in her bag. Sakura spent most of the day with Tomoyo and Syaoran, telling nobody about the dream she had had. Touya was oddly quiet at dinnertime, and Sakura was just about fed up with it.  
  
"Touya, what's wrong?" Sakura asked after dinner. Touya stared back at her intently, not knowing whether to tell Sakura that he saw Meiling or not.  
  
"Sakura…" he replied quietly. "I talked to Meiling's spirit."  
  
"Sp-spirit?" Sakura repeated shakily.  
  
"She misses you, Sakura."  
  
"I know, Touya."  
  
"I think she wanted to say that she was sorry about ruining your plans to go to the movies with Syaoran, and that she wanted you to be her friend."  
  
"I think so, too." 


	8. Chapter 8: Beginning of the End

Moving On  
  
The doorbell rang through the house after school on the sunny Monday, and Syaoran went to answer it. Sakura was standing outside his door, with Meiling's outfit in one hand and videotape in the other. She handed the video to him.  
  
"I want you to destroy it," Sakura said bitterly. Syaoran invited her inside. "I washed Meiling's outfit. I didn't realize I still had it on until I got home."  
  
"That's okay," Syaoran exclaimed. "It was almost like… almost like Meiling was still here. It sounds kind of crazy, but I feel her presence when you're here."  
  
Sakura nodded in agreement. She knew Meiling was with her, and she wondered if Meiling was mad that she wore her outfit. "I can understand."  
  
"What is this, anyway?" Syaoran asked, studying the video.  
  
"It's the movie theater's camera tape," Sakura explained quietly. "Tomoyo got it for me. I thought… maybe you would want to destroy it yourself."  
  
"I'm not sure if I should," Syaoran replied. "This tape has Meiling's last moments of life on it. That would be like… killing her all over again."  
  
Syaoran placed the tape on a bookcase and followed Sakura, who had headed into the kitchen to make Syaoran some tea.  
  
"Here you go," Sakura offered, handing Syaoran a cup of tea. "Be careful, it's really hot."  
  
"Sakura, why are you here?" Syaoran set the cup on the table, and Sakura blushed bright red. "I don't mean to be rude, I just want to know why you feel you want to hang out with me all the time now."  
  
"I just… wanted to comfort you…" Sakura murmured. Syaoran put an arm around her.  
  
"Thank you," he said in reply. Syaoran kissed Sakura.  
  
Epilogue  
  
Sakura came to Syaoran's house almost every day for three years. They talked and cleaned and laughed. They visited each other after school and started going out. And finally, one frosty December day when Sakura came to visit Syaoran at the age of 18, he sat her down, kneeled before her, and asked,  
  
"Sakura, will you marry me?"  
  
Sakura, overwhelmed with excitement, quickly replied with a yes, threw herself into his arms, and sobbed happily. They immediately decided to have their wedding in the spring so that they could have it outside with the cherry blossoms.  
  
And so the wedding was in fact held in late April of the next year under a cherry tree. As soon as they said their vows and kissed, they were rained upon with cherry blossoms. Although it was just Tomoyo sitting up high in the tree sprinkling the cherry blossoms on them, it was to them one of the most magical moments of their lives. They danced under the blossoms and, pretty soon, everybody was.  
  
Tomoyo stayed up in the tree and was joined by Rika and Naoko, who helped her scatter the sakura. Chiharu danced with Yamizaki. Sonomi wound up so emotional that she had to cry on Fujitaka's shoulder, despite the fact of how much she hated him. Syaoran and Sakura didn't notice any of it until they got the pictures from the wedding. They just kept dancing, wondering where they were to go from there. And as they took off for their honeymoon in a limousine, Sonomi finally lost what was holding in the last of her emotions and sobbed into Fujitaka's sleeve about something along the lines of 'Sakura has Nadeshiko's eyes' and 'Fujitaka, you stupid jerk'. Tomoyo, being the maid of honor, chased the limo down the street crying out good luck messages as Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu (Sakura's bridesmaids) ran behind her. Sakura and Syaoran both knew that even though they couldn't be there, the two people who were the most happy for them were Nadeshiko and Meiling, and that they were there with them looking down on them and smiling.  
  
And when Sakura and Syaoran were at the hospital a year and a half later, holding their baby girl, they decided together to name her Meiling.  
  
The End 


End file.
